We didn’t do any formal team building exercises. However, the kids self-organized. They built domino chains together and seemed to have had a very good time figuring out, together, different possible configurations.
Team Logo Discussion
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Teja was absent from the meeting, so no decisions were made. However, everyone brought in their versions of logos and shared with everyone else. Everyone took turns explaining their logos. Lots of good ideas! This being said, some kids seemed so into their own sketches that they didn’t want to try to see anything interesting or valuable in the others’ sketches.
(Apple-headed person building with chocolate ice-cream Lego blocks; AIB ice-cream cone with tiny apples)
(An apple and an ice-cream cone building a house out of Lego blocks; AIB with ice-cream apple person border around it.)
So we went around the room one more time. This time I asked each child to explain what elements of others’ logos they liked and why (of course they could also talk about their own logos).
We also talked about how a logo should be recognizable, not too busy, look good even when really small (like on a button).
I also emphasized that the logo, just like everything else children bring to the Expo, is their own work. Just like a parent is not supposed to give ideas about what to build, a parent is not supposed to draw the team’s logo. So if a child has an idea of a logo, but cannot draw it himself, help him figure out how to deal with this situation (i.e. ask a teammate who’s better at drawing; find a copyright-free image online; take a photo of an object they want to draw; use a ruler, a template; simplify the idea; choose a different idea, etc).
Challenge discussion
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Mark Daniel suggested an idea of building the school of the future with 4 classrooms. Each classroom would show one of the ideas others suggested, but only one classroom would have a motor connected to it.
So far we have ideas for 3 classrooms:
a gym with a trampoline
a library with a book robot
a virtual reality art/Minecraft studio
and the 4th can have brain lab if Teja is still interested
Here are some resources for each of these ideas. These are mostly videos you can show to your child before the next meeting (we might watch 1-2 videos on Monday). Please feel free to add yours (just reply to this e-mail with a link to a video or an article).
Brain research lab - not sure if Teja and others still have interest in it. Will discuss at the next meeting.
Lego Build
The kids started prototyping their ideas.
Mark David and Louis were working on a trampoline. They’ve made a huge progress, figuring out how to make a bouncy top. There are still some issues with it (i.e. how to keep minifigures from falling through the rubber bands). But they have time to work it all out (especially if they watch the trampoline video). They also figured out how to motorize the trampoline. Excellent work!
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Alex, Mark Daniel and Daniil chose to prototype the library idea (with the bookbot). Unfortunately, they did not have a clear idea of what they wanted to achieve or they haven’t communicated it effectively. For example, while Mark worked on a bookbot that would “spit out the books”, Alex worked on a robot that would pull the reader to a bookshelf or maybe it would pull a book to the reader along a system of rails. And Daniil worked on building a huge lamp with a fan. Also, unlike the trampoline, this was the first time the kids prototyped the bookbot.
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Homework
Work on the team logo (kids work, parents help find resources)
Research the idea you want to build - videos, articles, etc. Not just the technical side (how it works, how to build it), but also how it helps us learn.
Try your ideas out at home with LEGOs. Take pictures, take notes. If you run into challenges, take notes of those so your team can help find a solution.
Team Building
We didn’t do any formal team building exercises. However, the kids self-organized. They built domino chains together and seemed to have had a very good time figuring out, together, different possible configurations.
Team Logo Discussion
Teja was absent from the meeting, so no decisions were made. However, everyone brought in their versions of logos and shared with everyone else. Everyone took turns explaining their logos. Lots of good ideas! This being said, some kids seemed so into their own sketches that they didn’t want to try to see anything interesting or valuable in the others’ sketches.
(Apple-headed person building with chocolate ice-cream Lego blocks; AIB ice-cream cone with tiny apples)
(An apple and an ice-cream cone building a house out of Lego blocks; AIB with ice-cream apple person border around it.)
So we went around the room one more time. This time I asked each child to explain what elements of others’ logos they liked and why (of course they could also talk about their own logos).
We also talked about how a logo should be recognizable, not too busy, look good even when really small (like on a button).
I also emphasized that the logo, just like everything else children bring to the Expo, is their own work. Just like a parent is not supposed to give ideas about what to build, a parent is not supposed to draw the team’s logo. So if a child has an idea of a logo, but cannot draw it himself, help him figure out how to deal with this situation (i.e. ask a teammate who’s better at drawing; find a copyright-free image online; take a photo of an object they want to draw; use a ruler, a template; simplify the idea; choose a different idea, etc).
Challenge discussion
Mark Daniel suggested an idea of building the school of the future with 4 classrooms. Each classroom would show one of the ideas others suggested, but only one classroom would have a motor connected to it.
So far we have ideas for 3 classrooms:
Here are some resources for each of these ideas. These are mostly videos you can show to your child before the next meeting (we might watch 1-2 videos on Monday). Please feel free to add yours (just reply to this e-mail with a link to a video or an article).
Gym - do watch the trampoline video from last week - __http://youtu.be/8lEQZtStrck__ . Also, research how exercise helps our brains learn (lots of articles online, for example this one - __http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-brain-improve-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110__).
Library - here’s an article on how a book robot works - __http://www.popsci.com/content/underground-robot-library__ . For a more immediate experience, I strongly suggest visiting James B Hunt Jr Library on NCSU Centennial Campus - __http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/huntlibrary__. After the meeting, Mark Daniel suggested to build a bookbot that doesn’t just fetch books, but that would bring them to the reader. So we watched this video of Kiva robot - __https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KRjuuEVEZs__.
Virtual Reality studio - help kids research what is virtual reality (and maybe what is augmented reality, while at it). Here are a couple of videos - __https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7n5kRRHDpw__ and __https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iACAS_RAneE__ and this __https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT9vmpE8WcY__ and for augmented - __https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaU6DWb0yzs__ . Also, lots of articles online. If you know of a virtual reality studio we can visit on a field trip (or individually), please let me know.
Brain research lab - not sure if Teja and others still have interest in it. Will discuss at the next meeting.
Lego Build
The kids started prototyping their ideas.Mark David and Louis were working on a trampoline. They’ve made a huge progress, figuring out how to make a bouncy top. There are still some issues with it (i.e. how to keep minifigures from falling through the rubber bands). But they have time to work it all out (especially if they watch the trampoline video). They also figured out how to motorize the trampoline. Excellent work!
Alex, Mark Daniel and Daniil chose to prototype the library idea (with the bookbot). Unfortunately, they did not have a clear idea of what they wanted to achieve or they haven’t communicated it effectively. For example, while Mark worked on a bookbot that would “spit out the books”, Alex worked on a robot that would pull the reader to a bookshelf or maybe it would pull a book to the reader along a system of rails. And Daniil worked on building a huge lamp with a fan. Also, unlike the trampoline, this was the first time the kids prototyped the bookbot.
Homework